Hidden Love
by ZephyraExcalibur
Summary: Ike and Serena are worst enemies, their hate practically flowing in their blood. But is this true hate... or hidden love? Rated T for some violence.
1. Chapter 1

This is my first - technically second - fanfic. Well, this is the correct format. I don't think it's very good, but here goes...

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**Disclamer: I don't own Fire Emblem**

Hidden Love

Chapter 1

It was dark and cold, definitely no weather for a person wearing only thin shorts and a t-shirt. Their bare feet made no sound in the soft, white snow that drifted from the cold sky, and the person walked on. They had something important to do.

_It's okay, _the person thought, _They'll never know I left. _

The person was a young woman by the name of Serena. Her hair was flowing dark chocolate, smoothly ending right below her shoulders. She marched on at a brisk pace, trotting sometimes, walking sometimes. She wanted to see him for the last time so bad, for she loved him dearly, even if he did not love her back. She quickened her pace, walking into a wide, bluish abyss. The ocean…

"Oh uh… hi, Serena. Didn't expect you…" murmured a small voice.

"How glad I am to see you! I wanted to see you off, dear Geoffrey," Serena's voice sounded over the moaning wind.

She stared longingly at his light blue hair and bright green armor. They seemed to absorb the light from the bright moon. His piercing blue eyes were unusually cold, and Serena shivered.

"I need to go now, before I miss the ship," said Geoffrey, staring at the ground.

"I just wanted to say, before you go... I-I love you," said Serena, her voice barely a whisper.

In response, Geoffrey merely turned and trotted strait for the ship. Serena was heartbroken. She quickly ran back as fast as she could, for she knew if she wasn't fast enough she could freeze to death.

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"Serena, get _UP!_" A loud yell wracked her sleeping quarters, and finally she was forced to awaken.

"What? And will you _please_ stop that obnoxious yelling?!" Serena bellowed.

"Serena, it's late! And Queen Elincia requests our help!!" bellowed the voice, even louder than Serena.

"Fine, but get out of here, Ike! I need to change!"

"Hurry up! We must help the queen!"

Serena waited for the steps to retreat before opening her eyes and sitting up in bed. The weather was beautiful outside of the stone-gray mercenary fort, despite the white snow. She sighed, and wished that she could sleep longer.

_Of course, that's your fault, idiot_, said a voice in Serena's head, _You shouldn't have been such a fool to think Geoffrey would return your feelings._

"Shut up," Serena murmured to herself.

Serena quickly stripped down to her underclothes, and shivered in the cold. She found her golden breastplate and hurriedly put it on to keep herself warm. Next she put on the rest of her golden armor, absent-mindedly tightning straps and fitting in buckles. Finally, she was ready to leave her sleeping quarters.

_Alright, let's go and greet the day, Serena_, she thought.

As she walked out of her room, a blast of cool wind hit her in the face. She ignored it and lazily drifted off to the crowd that was gathering around Ike.

"...And just to warn you, this is terrible. Our queen... About time, Serena," Ike growled. He glowered at her as she made her way for the crowd.

"Not my--" Serena hardly finished her sentence before Ike interrupted again.

"As I was saying, the conditions are terrible. Queen Elincia was terrified to see such a crisis between human and laguz after the war. Caineghis is furious, and refuses to offer any aid, along with Naesala, and Tibarn. We are on our own," Ike finished.

As his words were met by silence, Ike's red cape fluttered high in the breeze . His eyes stared intently at Titania and Soren, while his short, blue hair blew gently like grass on a warm spring day.

"Soren, begin making a battle plan--" Ike began.

"Immediately, yes, I know," Soren finished. With a whirl of black robes, Soren turned around and went back to the mercenary fort. His black eyes were unusually dull, and his hair was a little disheveled.

"But what about the dragons?" suggested Mia, Ike's apprentice. Her purple hair, unlike Soren's and Ike's, was perfectly strait. She wore orange armor, and high black stockings from her thighs down. Her shoes were black, matching her stockings.

"I don't think the dragon King would approve," said Ike, frowning, "But it's an idea."

"What started this in the first place?" demanded Serena.

Ike glared at her, and said, "Had you come earlier, you would have known."

"Well, can't you repeat what you say? Or--" Serena cut herself short. She was quarreling with Ike - yet again. She didn't know why Ike seemed to anger her so easily. Usually she was tranquil and peaceful, but when it came to talking with, or even being near Ike, she suddenly got angry.

"Don't get angry, Serena. Here's what Ike thinks, because he doesn't know either," piped up Mist, Ike's younger sister, "Well, he thinks it's another overly ambitious war-loving freak who hates laguz, like Ashnard, except this time Ike thinks they may hate beorc as well, and wants them at war to see which is the more capable race. Just yesterday, some beorc that looked like Ike attacked Gallia. Naturally King Gallia wasn't fooled, but then soldiers that looked and smelled like Crimeans attacked Gallia. That got him mad, and the same happened to King Phoenicis and King Kilvas."

Mist smiled kindly, her short, brown hair flowing like a river in the wind. Her turquoise cape was short, and only reached down to the middle of her back.

"Thanks," Serena murmured, feeling ashamed. Why couldn't Ike be like Mist? Unlike Ike, Mist always expressed her feelings, and was kind to most everyone.

"So, what would our plan of action be?" asked a blond-haired knight.

"Well, Gatrie, I believe I just asked Soren to plan that," said Ike, a hint of impatience in his voice.

"I would personally cut him some slack. He's been working to and fro, making amazing plans and fighting at the same time. That's hard enough for him. Of course, if it were me, I could easily make take all that stress. Unfortunately, you don't trust me enough," said Gatrie.

"That's enough, Gatrie. It's not Ike's fault," said a green-tressed paladin, "You betrayed him a while back and if he hasn't forgiven you I don't blame him."

"Yeah, Oscar's right," agreed a spiky-green-haired warrior.

"Don't be so hard on him, Boyd," commented a red-haired paladin.

"I say we stop bickering, period, Titania," said Rolf. He had grown since the war, but, of course, his hair was still green, "I'm bored. Ike, er, Commander-General Ike, could I practice with my bow again?"

"Come on, Rolf, no need to show off like you did last time," snapped Boyd.

"Also known as completely kicked your butt at that accuracy-shooting contest?" asked Serena.

"What's taking Soren so long?" asked Ike, and it would probably be clear, even to a blind person, that Ike was now boiling over in impatience.

"Patience, Ike," said Mist.

After 30 more minutes of bickering, showing off, and complaining, Soren finally returned.

"Soren, are you okay? You took forever," said Serena, sounding concerned.

Soren then suddenly collapsed onto the floor.

"Eeek! Help him!" cried Serena.

"Serena, don't scream so loud!" bellowed Ike.

"_Now _who's screaming loud? Huh? Huh? HUH???" demanded Serena. By now, both Ike and Serena were impatiently making motions with their hands.

"STOP IT!!!" screamed Titania. Her long, red braids swayed, and her light silver armor reflected the sunlight. It ended up blinding both Ike and Serena for a fraction of a second.

"Alright, it looks like he's fainted from exhaustion," squeaked Mist, "The simple treatment for this is sleep, and a lot of it."

"But... what about our battle?" asked Mia. She seemed uncharacteristically jumpy and nervous.

"You lust for violence?" asked Serena. Though it was a rude question, there was wisdom in her eyes as she asked.

"No but... we fight for peace, right? For our countrypeople, and to please Queen Elincia."

"No time to bicker. I guess we'll have to find another way to fight this battle, but we need to leave now. The queen needs us," said Ike, "Everyone ready? Mist, Rolf, Gatrie, and Boyd will stay behind to make sure Soren is fine and to protect this nice fort Queen Elincia has provided for us."

"Alright, Ike, but... whatever. Nevermind," said Boyd, though it was obvious something was bothering him.

"What is it, Boyd?" asked Rolf.

"Well, uh... if we stay behind, won't the attacking force be weaker?"

"Duh. Ike is taking risks, but he knows what he is doing, I believe."

"Okay, peew--"

"Shut UP! I am NOT a peewee anymore!"

"Alright men... er, people. We move now! To Crimea!" shouted Ike.

"To Crimea!" shouted everyone.

_Um... isn't it kind of late? Ike waited for a while for Soren. I hope the queen is fine,_ thought Serena. Concerned, she decided to express her thoughts.

"Ike! Hey Ike! HELLO?? IKE, LISTEN TO ME!" Serena yelled.

But Ike ignored her, and started talking to Boyd, "Alright, Boyd. I know. I need to take this risk."

"If you say so, boss," replied Boyd, frowning deeply.

"IKE, ISN'T IT KIND OF LATE?? I THOUGHT ELINCIA WOULD NEED OUR AID IMMEDIATELY!" yelled Serena.

"But, Ike, you're playing a dangerous risk here, you know. Without all of us, and without the laguz, you are much weaker. No offense," said a white-gowned priest.

"I know, Rhys, I know you want to play it safe. But... as I said, we need to take this gamble."

"Please, Ike, re-think this. Do you do this for glory, like your father, or... what?"

"Rhys... I'm sorry if I'm going to worry you by doing this but something tells me I have to."

"IKE, DID YOU HEAR WHAT I SAID??"

"Alright, move!"

_"IKE, **LISTEN TO ME!" **_

"WHAT?"

"About time!"

"That's all? What a waste!"

"NO! This is for Elincia! Why did you wait so long?"

But Ike ignored her, and marched on, followed by Gatrie, Titania, Mia, Oscar, Rhys, and a reluctant Serena holding the rear.

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Ike's small army marched along. Serena was bored and decided to examine the scenery. They walked on a soiled trail. There were deep, dark trees on both sides of the trail, and it looked like Gallia's Gebal Castle. Ike's mercenary group marched on, and eventually the number of trees began to thin. Eventually, Ike's mercenary group walked onto a clearing. It was almost like a desert, except there was grass, no trees, and a few bushes. One large, odd, rocky ramp led up to a plateau.

_I wonder how that got there,_thought Serena,_ Oh well, at least it's peaceful._

Ironically, right when Serena thought this they were ambushed. Men dressed in odd, bright pink armor charged at Ike's small mercenary group.

"ATTACK!" bellowed the biggest and fattest of them all. He appeared to be the leader.

Ike didn't even need to say anything before everyone charged.

"Ike, we're outnumbered!" cried Serena.

"Who cares! Fight! Take them down!" Ike yelled in response.

Swords, lances, and axes clashed while blood was spilled.

Serena saw a flash of pink armor on the plateau, ran up the rocky ramp she noticed earlier onto the smooth plateau and engaged with an odd looking man, who looked impossibly thin without bones showing. His pink armor flashed again. He was also wielding a heavy axe, and Serena wondered why he didn't collapse from the weight. She raised her sword, but was a second too slow. The man brought down his axe with surprising speed and Serena ended up taking a sharp blow to the side. Her scream of pain was bitten back as blood dripped slowly from her wounded hip. She angrily thrust her sword forward in retaliation, but the ultra-thin-axe-bearing man blocked her attack. Serena wanted to scream in frustration. She could see from her advantageous position that things were not going well. However, when Serena was drifting off the man snatched up the chance to give her a second blow. He raised his axe high over his head, ready to cleave Serena's head in half. Luckily, at the last second Serena jumped to the left. Unluckily, she jumped a decimeter too far and went plummeting strait off the side of the plateau. As she hit the ground, her breath was knocked out of her. She landed in the middle of a small circle of five trees, oddly placed to form a pentagon. At least these would serve as somewhat protection. Then she knew she would make an easy target and got up as fast as she could. By now, her hip was bleeding badly, and her whole left side hurt bad. She looked around for Rhys, and saw him healing Mia in a grove of trees and bushes, looking slightly panicked. She tried to move, but she was surprised that she couldn't.

_Move or die!_, she thought. It was meant to encourage herself, but she found herself feeling even worse.

"Help," she whispered, hearing footsteps approaching. Huge, pink feet were now in front of her face.

"Help," she said again, louder slightly. She squirmed and wriggled, but could not move from her pitiful position. It was then that she realized she was not lucky to have landed in this pentagon-shaped clearing of trees - it was a trap. She had fallen off the plateau and landed in a tangle of ropes. As if the weight of her body set off a trigger, they immediately wrapped around her and bound her tightly to the ground. In her attempt to get up, she had only spotted five trees. Now she still saw five trees - with ropes connected to each of them.

"We got one!" shouted a soldier gleefully, "HAHA! STUPID THINGS, THEY ARE!"

"No... let me go..." Serena said weakly.

"Oooh, a pretty one she is too."

"Too bad you won't be able to see any more of them," said a voice quite menacingly.

She heard a sickening _crack_ as a sword slashed through a skull. Blood splattered her once-smooth hair (which was now a tangled mess), and she winced.

"Are you okay?" asked Ike.

"Yes, I'm fine Ike. It'd be nice if you could get me out of this mess," said Serena. Despite the fact that her face was staring at the ground, she recognized the voice.

A _whoosh_ of air, and Serena was free.

"Thanks," she mumbled.

"Get yourself healed by Rhys; you're hurt," said Ike.

"I thought you wouldn't care."

"Of course I don't, it should be common sense to you."

But Serena, knowing that battle time was battle time and not argue time, obediently turned and walked off to Rhys.

"Ouch, that looks painful," murmured Rhys, sympathetically. His white robes were splattered with crimson blood.

"It is," replied Serena. A soft buzzing sound, a nondescript noise, and her wound was healed.

"Are you okay, Rhys? You're not in pain, are you--" but her sentence was cut off when she suddenly felt lightheaded.

"Serena, y-you've been hit by a poisonous axe," stammered Rhys, "And I don't have anything here to help you - Mist took the Restore staff."

Serena fell to the ground, feeling dizzy, and not able to stand up. However, she still heard Ike, and the word he said made her scared. Would she be able to follow his command?

"Augh, this won't work! Everyone--" said Ike.

"RETREAT!" bellowed the fat enemy.

"Huh?" said Serena.

She vaguely saw a blurry red cape, and knew that must be Ike's. But unfortunately, Ike had no answers for her, and did not turn. Then Serena saw why the enemy was forced to retreat - two huge wyverns had flown over, and then four more came to join them. Serena immediately recognized the pink-haired, green-wyvern rider, and the black-haired, eye-patched, black-wyvern rider.

"Don't retreat, on second thought! Fight!" yelled Ike.

"Rhys, what now?" asked Serena. He was shuffling in his bag.

"There. Drink this," said Rhys, "It's an antitoxin."

"Gotcha."

After taking a few gulps, Serena instantly felt refreshed.

"I'll try not to be as clumsy. Thanks, Rhys," said Serena.

Without waiting for an answer, she immediately charged into the remaining enemies in battle, and surprised a sword-wielding fat-person who was about to kill Mia. Serena slashed hard, and he was knocked off balance, but only teetered for a few seconds before recovering.

However, Serena suddenly felt energy surge through her body, and her arms were much stronger. She calmly swung her sword in a semi-circle around her head, and then, as if blocking an enemy attack, she held her arm sideways in a 90-degree angle, and forced the blade of her sword into the enemy's chest and went right through it. The man fell dead, blood erupting from both halves of the remains of his body like lava from a volcano.

"Uh, less violence Serena, but otherwise nicely done!" panted Mia.

The enemy, pink-armored men fled from the battle, and Ike met up with the same wyverns who saved their skins.

"Mia, let's get you healed up," said Serena.

She picked Mia up by the arm, then wrapped it around her neck, letting Mia relax slightly. They hobbled over to Rhys, who was already healing Oscar.

"Another one? Oh well," murmured Rhys. He looked quite tired, and Serena privately hoped that he would not faint either.

"Alright, I'll go listen in on what Ike's saying," said Serena. She gently set Mia on the ground and let her sit down.

Then she turned her back and walked across the soft, green grass and joined Ike.

"No problem, Ike," the pink-haired green wyvern rider had said quite cheerily.

"I can't thank you enough, but... how did you get here? How did you know we were under attack?" asked Ike.

"Jill," said the black-haired wyvern rider, gesturing towards the pink-haired one, "heard some loud shouts and clashes. And then she saw some blood. Also, we knew it was you because we knew you were near the eastern border between Crimea and Daein, and we were doing a border patrol there. Quite a coincidence, huh... yawn... zzzzzzzz."

"Well, it would appear Haar made some improvement," said Jill, "he didn't fall asleep as fast." She was slightly flustered and embarrassed seeing Haar just fall asleep talking to an important person.

"Thanks Jill and Haar," whispered Serena.

"Let's go... wait, not yet. Do you know who these mysterious attackers are?" asked Ike.

"No, I don't... it's really odd. They appeared to have been attacking from the general direction of Kilvas, but if they were there would have been ravens helping them," said Jill, frowning.

"So they don't appear to even have come from Tellius," concluded Serena.

"Well, thanks again, Jill. And Haar... if you're listening. We'll see you soon," said Ike, "Let's go, everyone!"

And so, Ike's mercenaries and Jill and Haar's patrol group went back their own ways, Ike's group to the west and Jill and Haar's group to the east.

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Okay, there. I hope the ending didn't seem to hasty, I wanted to make sure no one else had the same title. Also, some important things:

The part about Serena and the energy-in-her-arm thing is supposed to be describing the critical attack of a myrmidon, but in case you didn't understand, now you do.

I decided to end this chapter because it seemed too long... I guess I'll keep writing more if I have time.

Please review and tell me if I need to improve!


	2. Chapter 2

Okay, this would be the second chapter of Hidden Love. If I'm doing badly please tell me by reviewing. On the other hand… If you think I'm doing well please tell me!

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**Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem**.

Hidden Love 

Chapter 2 

As Ike's small band of warriors marched back to the fort, Serena got more and more concerned with each step.

_What about Elincia?_ was what Serena was thinking the whole time back.

"Ike! Hey Ike! Pay attention!" Serena finally said.

"WHAT?" demanded Ike.

"Why did we even fight that battle? What about Elincia?"

"That's Queen Elincia to you. Anyways, she ordered us to patrol the border and give her any information we got. We got ambushed. And we have information on the mysterious pink-armored men."

"Yes, but _where_ is Elincia right now?"

"_Queen_ Elincia is currently in Begnion. Don't you remember? Oh wait, that's right, you're a new recruit. You wouldn't know. She's safe, for your information."

Serena was forced to look down in anger. She hated how Ike always acted like she was some stupid, rebellious, up-to-no-good idiot.

As the bedraggled and worn warriors approached the mercenary fort, Oscar frowned and whispered something to Ike. Then Ike frowned and spoke.

"Has anyone heard anything yet?" he asked.

"No," said everyone.

"That's bad," said Ike, "Everyone, run the last few… NO!"

The sight was terrible. Slaughtered laguz cats and tigers laying on their side, all around the fort.

"W-what happened?" asked Rhys.

No one answered his question - instead they all ran towards the fort entrance and saw Boyd, Mist, and everyone else who was told to remain. They all looked distraught.

"Boyd! What happened here!" cried Oscar.

Soren appeared from the mercenary fort and said, "Oh, you're back."

"Are you okay, Soren?" asked Ike.

"Yes, I'm fine. But I'm guessing you want to hear what happened here?" asked Soren.

"Yes, please tell us," said Gatrie.

"These laguz… they tried to attack us. We didn't fight back and tried to talk it out. Then some mysterious, pink-armored men came, killed them all, and ran towards Gallia," said Soren.

"No…" said Titania. Her mouth was slightly open.

"At least none of these laguz appear to be female," commented Gatrie, though he was frowning himself.

"How can you say that? How??" demanded Mist.

"It was a joke," murmured Gatrie, though he was clearly pleased.

"Gatrie, you perverted idiot!" said Serena.

"STOP! We need to plan things out and talk," said Ike, "Into the Tactics Room, everyone."

Despite her inexperience, Serena knew what the "Tactics Room" was: It really was just an extra room, but everyone started calling it the "Tactics Room", because that was the room where the battle plans and preparations were made. Not only did their kind Queen provide an extra room on purpose, but she also added a smithy, where the mercenaries' weapons were forged. Some where just everyday weapons, while others were specially forged (many had odd names).

"Okay, this is what we know so far," stated Soren quite matter-of-factly, "The laguz are angry at the beorc because they believe the beorc are trying to kill them. The beorc say they are not trying to kill the laguz, but the laguz and their pride, insist that the beorc are evil liars."

"So… what we could guess is that these pink-armored men are the evil people attacking both the beorc and laguz nations, spreading lies, and randomly killing the people they have been hired by," said Serena.

"But… Well, Soren, do you know why the laguz came to attack us?" inquired Ike.

"… They claimed that some 'old ally' told them that 'a mercenary fort that lies to the west of the evil country houses the ones you seek revenge to for killing your countrypeople'. Then the pink-armored men attacked. The 'mercenary for that lies to the west' would obviously be here, and the 'evil country' would be Daein. I'm guessing the 'ones you seek revenge to for killing your countrypeople' would be the Crimeans, and maybe even us. And unfortunately, the one who said that… truly was an old ally…" Soren looked bitterly at the ground when he finished, and no one spoke.

"Well?" prompted Ike.

"R-R-Ranulf…" whispered Mist.

"WHAT? NO!" cried Ike.

"He… he still believed we weren't the killers. But… K-King Gallia… when he orders his people they always listen… And so Ranulf… When the men attacked…" Mist didn't need to finish her sentence.

"Where is he? We need to give him a proper burial," said Titania.

"You're kidding me, aren't you?" asked Boyd.

"Boyd, what are you talking about! Ranulf fought by our side! He helped us! And now you want to leave his body discarded like trash near the fort?" demanded Oscar.

"No! We need to bury all of the laguz," replied Boyd.

"Or we could take their… nevermind," said Soren.

"What?" asked Ike.

"Well, it was a stupid idea. Don't ponder about what I said, it would waste your time and life," said Soren.

"Is there any proper laguz burial ritual?" asked Mia, startling everyone. She had been so silent they had all forgotten she was there.

"Yes, as a matter of fact. But it requires many laguz materials that we don't have," said Soren.

"What do you mean by 'laguz materials'?" asked Mia.

"Pure water, that only laguz cat and tiger claws could dig deep enough to find, sacred berries that only bloom at night, since cats and tigers can still see, and other things like that," said Soren.

"But why couldn't we just use regular berries and water?" asked Serena, "I mean, that's the closest we could get, and it's still following the laguz rituals. Wouldn't it show we do our best to care for laguz customs?"

"Or, if you are a laguz, you may see it as an insult that humans are purposely using the wrong type of water and berries," replied Soren coolly.

"What else are you supposed to do, just dump water and berries on them?" asked Mia.

"No. As I said, they use purest water, sacred berries, and they actually also use gold to bury their fellow laguz. But the details are limited, as most books are more on laguz, how they act, their weaknesses, etc, but not so much on their burial rituals. I would simply suggest burying them," said Soren.

"Okay. Do you think we should risk sending a messenger to Caineghis?" asked Ike.

"I doubt Caineghis would listen. After all, listening to you speak earlier, you said that the laguz are angry. And that they don't want to help us, and we have to fight this evil, unknown enemy on our own. Honestly, I doubt it would be any better than to send a messenger to Caineghis than to send one to his or her doom," said Soren.

"Do you think the dragons would cooperate?" asked Mia again.

"I highly doubt it, but I guess it's worth a try," said Ike, "So I guess this would be what they say: Dear King of Dragons, we beg for you to help us defeat evil in this land that is corrupting the soil that their feet tramp upon. We ask that you may show the other laguz that we have not killed nor harmed their companions; it is pink-armored men who have been causing this grief, and we beg of you to help us save Tellius and its inhabitants from the pain of sorrow of war."

"We should probably change it a little, it sounds rather like we're convicting laguz of being liars, but otherwise that should be good enough for suicide with the dragons," said Soren.

"Who would the messenger be?" asked Rolf.

"Someone… Any volunteers?" asked Ike.

"I will," said Serena. She had been the only one who responded.

"You're joking, aren't you? Don't you know you're going for complete suicide?" asked Soren.

"I don't care. I'm going. Could someone help me pack? No? Fine, I'll do it myself," said Serena. With that, she whirled around and walked out the tactics room towards her sleeping quarters. By now, the sun had sunk below the horizon, and the sky seemed to be tainted with bloodred clouds.

Soren's words played over and over in Serena's head.

_You're joking, aren't you? Don't you know you're going for complete suicide?_

_Grr… Soren, you jealous idiot, I'll show you,_ thought Serena.

Indeed, she was brave to have gone for this quest, to even dare to deliver a message to the isolated dragons, but even _she_ knew, deep down, that this hope was impossible.

_You _are_ an idiot, Serena. You plan on taking an impossible message to the Dragon King just to show off? You are _so_ dragon meat!_ a small voice in her head said (most people would call this voice their 'common sense').

Serena reached her sleeping quarters and started rolling up her thin sheets and her thick blankets and packed them in a huge, brown leather bag (similar to a modern-day backpack) she had made a while ago.

_Well, at least it has as purpose now,_ Serena thought.

After that she placed all of her clothes, including her dresses (she didn't know why, but she suddenly felt like she had quit her job as a mercenary and decided to take everything that she had), and five water jugs, all full of water.

The bag was still only half full.

"Okay, bag, I hope you can carry all this weight," she muttered, not quite knowing why she was talking to a bag.

Serena added her last necessity, food, before snapping the bag shut. Then she unsheathed her sword, and walked outside. She walked to the nearest source of water, a bathhouse, and cleansed her sword of the shining, crimson blood by plunging it in a bathtub full of water. The water turned red, and after Serena's sword was shining silver again, she drained the water. She then sheathed her sword again.

"I'll need more swords than just this," she murmured, and looked at her belt. The hilt of her sword was worn, but from her experience on the battlefield, Serena knew it would still last for a while.

She walked into the smithy, and walked up to a long-haired man.

"Hello, Serena. I hear you're going on the suicidal- I mean, dragon quest?" he asked.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, Blondy," she said, glaring at him.

"First of all, my name's NOT Blondy! My hair may be blond, but that's not my name!" he said.

"Fine then, William, but I need a weapon or two or more for this… 'dragon quest,'" said Serena.

"Of course, my young, inexperienced, youthful lady," said William.

William was a young, blond-haired, brown-eyed man, who looked about to be in his late twenties or early thirties. He was a hard worker, and was very good at forging weapons.

"I'll be needing as many of your best and lightest swords," said Serena, "Oh, and the most longest-lasting."

"You demand much, but I can also provide just as much, maybe even more," said William, "Sleep now, Serena, and the weapons will be ready by tomorrow with nice names, too."

So Serena walked back to her sleeping quarters and cursed.

_Idiot, if you're not leaving until tomorrow, you don't pack the day before!_ she thought.

----------

_Now they may rest in peace_, thought Mia happily. It had taken a lot of effort to bury all the laguz in less that one day, but of course, Ike's amazing mercenary group did it. Now there were many mounds of soil surrounding the mercenary fort, marking where the laguz had died. And to top it off, Soren had found an ancient tome book, cast an ice move, and then melted the ice with fire magic, creating boiling hot water. However, when the water cooled, it seemed to glitter and gleam, even in the darkness. Everyone decided it would be adequate for the water part, so Soren cast the spell over and over so that there was enough water for all of the laguz.

_I hope Serena will be okay,_ thought Mia.

"Alright, everyone, let's rest for the day," said Ike, "And I thank you all for helping me with this task."

----------

It was in the middle of night when finally everyone finally fell asleep, as there was loud banging and bright lights coming from the smithy, and everyone knew that William was at work.

_Can't he put off his work for tomorrow? Why does he always do things right after he gets asked?_ Oscar had thought.

_I'll never sleep…_ Gatrie had thought, _And me not sleeping means girls won't like my bedraggled, tired-looking shape!_

----------

Serena awoke early in the morning, and despite the fact that she had hardly slept for an hour, she was alert and not tired. She immediately re-packed her sheets and blankets, changed out of her sleepwear, put on her armor, and set off for the smithy.

* * *

I hope this chapter wasn't too boring… I had to get the preparation part in. Also, I wanted to finish it sooner.

Also, the laguz burial thing... I _completely_ made that up. Am I allowed to do that?

Not much else I can think of, except PLEASE REVIEW!


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem**

Hidden Love

Chapter 3

Serena calmly waited for William to bring out her weapons.

"Voila!" cried William, dramatically, yet with a terrible French accent. He stood at one side of a thick brown counter, Serena on the other.

"Thank you, William," said Serena, and started to reach out for them. But then William pulled the finely crafted swords out of Serena's grabbing range.

"I need to know that these swords will be finely cared for. Tell me where you will store them," said William.

"In a large bag, one and a half meters by one and a half meters, round."

"Hmm… now, how will you carry this bag? How many items are in this bag?"

"I'm planning on buying a horse."

"Greedy little rich tyke, eh?"

"No, just rich."

"In that case, you're inviting me to charge extra on your swords! Where have you gotten all this money?"

"Just give me the swords."

"Answer my question."

"I come from a rich family."

"What a waste of life! You should be living in an extravagant house and be fighting for royalty, not just sitting around with a mercenary group!"

"William… what has gotten into you? This little band of mercenaries serves princess Elincia, as you well know. Now give me the swords."

"Fine fine fine, here are there names," said William. He gestured to a beautiful, silver sword that was tinted gold. Its handle had a ruby embedded into the pommel.

"I am rich too. This sword is known as… Dun dadada! Boreas, the North wind!!" sang William, terribly off pitch.

"This one," continued William, "with the sapphire embedded into the pommel, is Notus the south wind, and the crystal-pommeled one is Eurus, the east wind!"

"What's up with all the wind?" asked Serena.

"Wind generally has cool names," replied William.

"Alright, can you give them to me now?" asked Serena.

"Well, you'd have to pay first!" exclaimed William.

"I meant that. Now what's the price? Hurry up, I don't have all day!"

"I'll be really, really generous, because I feel sorry for you. For these three excellent swords, which can last through over 50 battles, and weigh only 1, will cost you only 100,000 gold. Aren't I fair? They are extremely amazing," said William.

Serena glared at him and unsheathed her sword.

"Don't play games with me. How much?" demanded Serena, the tip of her sword pointing at William's neck.

William angrily said, "Fine, fine, violent-woman, they'll be 8,000 gold. That better?"

"Yes, okay." Serena sheathed her sword and produced from her pocket a large bag of jangling coins. She pulled out eight small coins and handed them over.

"Wow, you have the 1,000-gold-single coins? These are worth a fortune!" exclaimed William.

"They're only worth 1,000 gold. And they're called thousandlets. May I have the swords?" asked Serena.

"Yes, yes, here you go, for your suicide mission," said William. He clumsily passed her the swords, sheaths, and new belts, and busily continued inspecting the coin. Then he walked into his private office. The door shut with a _clank_ and locked with a _click_.

Serena stared at the closed office door for a while before collecting the items on William's desk and walking outside from the smithy. She quickly trotted back to her sleeping quarters, as the wind seemed to be biting her exposed face, despite the warm sun high in the sky. She put on her armor hastily and picked up her bag. Then, she immediately fell back down.

_Oh great, _Serena thought,_ I'm too weak to carry it. I guess…_

She walked back outside and went to find Ike. When she found him in the armory, she asked him for a horse.

"A horse? We don't need to sacrifice another horse!" exclaimed Ike.

Then she explained how she couldn't carry her bag unless she had something to carry it for her.

"Fine. TITANIA!" called Ike.

A few minutes later, Titania appeared at Ike's side.

"Yes?" Titania asked.

"We'll need to sacrifice a horse for Serena."

"Okay. Which one?"

"How about… what's its name, I think it was the Pegasus-like one, right? Zeph… Zephyr, that's right. We'll let her take Zephyr."

_Wind again! Odd, _thought Serena.

"You know he's the strongest, fastest, and best horse."

"And the hardest to tame."

"Okay." Then Titania rushed off, and a moment later, returned with Zephyr. She carefully tethered him to a picket with a thick chain.

Zephyr was a beautiful white stallion that was vicious and could buck you off so fast and powerfully you would break your neck. However, he was, like Titania said, strong and fast. His belly was not overly large, though he was slightly on the plump side. He also had strong, muscular legs.

"Here's the reigns. Good luck," grumbled Ike. He shoved a rope-like brown thing to Serena. If you inspected it further, you would have noticed, in very, very tiny letters, Serena's name was engraved into the sturdy brown leather. At the end were two closable hooks that opened with a push of a lever.

"And here's the bit, the bridle, the brush, the scrubber, the saddle, the girdle… yeah, you get the point," said Titania. She gently placed a small silver bar into Serena's hands, and then gave Serena a connecting bridle. Then she dropped a small bag of supplies on the armory floor.

"Good luck," muttered Ike, his voice inaudible. He and Titania then left the room.

Serena kindly touched the stallion's beautiful head. He whinnied and stomped on her foot. Yet Serena did not yield and simply went on to breathe her scent up its nostrils. Zephyr, confused, did not react.

"Finally, you stomping, screaming horse, I got you to calm down. Now, hold still while I get your bit and bridle on," said Serena.

She easily slipped the bridle onto the horse's face, but Zephyr had gotten over his shock and started shaking his head angrily. Serena tried to get him to open his mouth to place the bit inside, but he seemed to know this was what Serena intended, and kept his mouth tightly shut.

"Fine, be that way," murmured Serena. She quickly and agilely snatched up the reigns she had dropped on the floor and in a flash, they were on Zephyr. He was again stunned, so Serena took advantage of this by prying his mouth open and sticking in the bit. By now, Zephyr was angry and kicked as hard as he could in Serena's general direction. He heard a pleasing _thump_ and _wump_, and started biting at a long chain that didn't allow him to get very far. He hadn't noticed it before.

"Ha, you missed. But you kicked some of your treats," said Serena, gesturing toward a pile of apples and sugar cubes on the floor.

Infuriated, Zephyr started jumping and stomping for all he was worth. Unfazed, Serena simply packed Zephyr's treats, food, and cleaning materials into her bag (which was now ¾ full). Suddenly, an idea hit her. Before leaving, from her bag she pulled out a beautifully crafted bow and placed it on a bench. It had been made for her by her deceased grandmother, and to her, it was worth more than the sun. She wrote a tiny note, saying "To Ike: To remember me by. Use it well. -Serena." Then she waited for Zephyr to tire before putting on his girdle, saddle, and his armor.

"There you go! You look nice as a war horse. Unlike most horses. You look born to be wearing armor," commented Serena. She tied the huge bag to Zephyr's side, and then hopped onto the horse's back. Zephyr immediately went slack.

Serena then unlatched the chain, slightly squeezed the horse's side, and was surprised that he listened to her command. He walked outside of the armory and turned at Serena's gentle guidance.

"Good luck!" called Mia.

"See you soon!" cried Mist.

"Hope so!" replied Serena, as Zephyr trotted south.

----------

The bright orange glow of the horizon cast a bloodred light over Ike's mercenary fort. At the center of all the square-shaped stone walls and buildings stood a small crowd.

"Okay, everyone. So as you all know--" began Ike.

"Eh? What's that?" asked Gatrie. He pointed to a distant shape on a small hill. It was too far away to make out any details, but it was clear that the thing was large and black. It was shaped suspiciously like the shadow of a beast.

"It's too far away. It shouldn't be a threat. But in case it is... Titania, Mia, Oscar, and Rolf. Guard the direction it's coming from in case it tries to attack," said Ike.

Immediately a loud roar ripped through the calm sunset, and the shadow-beast charged. Despite its bulk, it ran down the hill and up a valley right to the entrance of the mercenary fort in a few seconds.

"Arm yourselves!" bellowed Ike. He unsheathed his sword, Ragnell, and made sure everyone was prepared to fight. But when he saw who it was, he caught his breath.

"_Giffca?!_" exclaimed Titania. Everyone hastened to hide their weapons and relax their tense muscles. They all respected and feared the black lion, who was the King's shadow.

"I have come by the King's orders," stated Giffca. He did not change to his human form.

"How are Lethe and Mordecai?" Rolf asked uneasily.

"Dead," said Giffca. He glared at Ike and let out a low growl, then continued speaking, "We have been attacked over and over. Humans pledge their allegiance to us and kill us."

"And you think we are the ones who are killing you?" demanded Soren.

"We have no proof, yet these burial mounds... they give me a reason for suspicion," replied the black beast.

"I will tell you the story... but I'm not sure if you'll believe us," said Ike warily. Titania shot him a look that told him to be careful with his words.

"If you have a story, tell me."

"Very well. We were leading a scouting patrol to the Daein border. We were attacked by these odd pink-armored men. Had a Daein border patrol not found us, we would have died. They fought fiercely despite their bulk or thinness. When we returned from the battle... we spotted dead laguz scattered around the fort. Soren told us that... that Ranulf had come to deliver a message. Ranulf did not believe we were the killers. But as soon as he finished speaking, the pink-armored men came and in very little time, all the laguz were killed. Then the men fled towards Gallia, no doubt to blame us for the killings. Soren told us what he knew about the laguz burials, about how we needed the purest water and sacred berries and gold. Because we are humans and unable to get these materials, Soren found an ancient tome book. After a few steps he was able to conjure glittering water the sparkled even in the moonlight. It was the best we could to keep your tradition. Then we asked one of our mercenaries, Serena, to send a message to the Dragon King. She recently left," said Ike.

"Hmph. I thank you for keeping our traditions and informing me of Ranulf's fate. But I must say, this Serena girl is a fool. She _did_ know that she will die?" Giffca stated bluntly.

"Yes..."

"Very well. I believe your story and inform the king."

"Thank you, Giffca."

He grunted in response and charged back up the hill to Gallia.

"Oh great. Now we know that Serena is going on this death-trip in vain," said Gatrie.

"We must find her," said Ike, "Even I would not want her to die."

Mist and Titania exchanged an amused look before returning their calm gazes back to Ike.

"There's not much we can do," said Boyd, "The horse you gave her travels fast once you have control of him. We'd probably never catch up."

"We'll have to try. Oscar, Rhys, Boyd, Rolf, and Gatrie. Could you follow Serena's trail?" asked Ike.

"Not much choice," muttered Gatrie. He was already ready for the trip, which was surprising.

"How'd you pack so fast?" demanded Mist.

"I was bored. No good-looking lasses," said Gatrie.

The other four warriors took longer to pack and change into their armor.

"Don't worry Ike," said Rhys.

"We'll find her, Ike. We promise. We'll also return safe," said Oscar. Without waiting, he ordered everyone to travel south and follow Serena's trail.

"We need to train again, all of us. We're falling behind. It was embarrassing for me to admit that the pink-armored men were difficult foes," said Ike. Titania looked like she was going to interrupt, but Soren cut her off with a look. "I know we will always meet some difficult enemy in our lives," continued Ike, "but the best we can do is prepare. Okay, Mia and I will spar, Titania and..."

"Smart, Ike. You didn't leave many people back at the fort. Clumsy mistake of yours, could even be deadly," said a voice.

"I didn't know our numbers were so small," commented Ike. He frowned.

"I thought you were smart, idiot!" said the voice again.

"William, whatever. You can - if Ike approves, of course - go out to recruit new recruits," suggested Mia.

"WHAT? Do you know just how annoying it is to wander around looking for soldiers?" exclaimed William.

"We could send you to Elincia to ask her to lend some aid," said Mist.

"I suppose, but then we'd lose more mercenaries. We only have --" Ike paused to count, "six mercenaries here, counting myself."

"Who's the sixth?" asked William.

"You," said Soren. No one heard him add "Idiot" under his breath.

"Ike, when did you get so clumsy? You usually leave a fair amount of people here. Are you feeling alright? Now that I look closer, you look a little pale," said Mist.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Remember what Janaff said? How we could fire an arrow from a high place to get her attention?" said Ike.

"Yeah? So? Do the hawks know yet that we're not the evil killers?" asked William.

"I don't think it'd hurt to try," said Mia.

So Ike went to the armory to pick up a bow and arrow. He had experience with bows, but he still wasn't very efficient with targets. When he was about to pick up a practice bow, when he noticed a nicely carved bow. Its wood was smooth, and when he slipped his hand into the handle it was curved and had individual ridges where his fingers fit perfectly. When he picked it up, it seemed like just the right weight. He didn't notice a slip of paper falling to the ground. Ike observed that it was about two and a half feet tall. Then he went to the wall and grabbed a quiver of arrows and left.

"What a nice-looking bow. Where did you find it, Ike?" asked Titania.

"I don't know. I just saw it sitting there, and I picked it up and it felt perfect so I took it," replied Ike.

"Well, let's go for it, boss!" said Mia.

Ike somewhat nervously strung his bow, and pointed it towards the sky. The loud cry of a raven startled him, and a black shadow clouded the sun. A split second later, the screech of a hawk pierced the sky, and a group of hawks met with the ravens. A single raven led the way, behind it a hawk. Though there were many hawks and ravens, the front two could not be mistaken. They quickly flew towards Ike's mercenaries, their beaks sharper than razors.

"It's Naesala and Tibarn! We're completely outnumbered! We'll never survive this attack!" cried William. He ran around crazily in a circle as if doing so would make the beasts disappear.

"Uh, negotiate with them, boss!" yelled Mia. It was difficult to hear over the loud screeching and cawing.

"LISTEN!" bellowed Ike.

The laguz did not listen.

"Uh... now what do I do?" asked Ike.

Soren spoke some inaudible words, and right as Ike was about to ask what he said, the noise ceased.

"We aren't the killers!" called Ike.

"If you'll pay us a fair amout you can live," sneered Naesala.

"How much?" asked Mist.

"At least 500,000 gold. Got that much?" the crow king cawed a few times in quick succession before Ike realized he was laughing.

"Wasn't Serena the bag of riches?" asked William.

"She was? I didn't sneak into her room at night to count her money," said Soren.

"Well, look at what she gave me!" William proudly held up Serena's thousandlet.

"Alright, you have 1,000 gold. Now all you need it 490,000 more. You have half an hour to find that much money," said Naesala.

"Naesala, don't be a fool. You know 500,000 gold won't pay off for what these horrid humans did," said a green hawk.

"Tibarn, listen," said Soren. Then he started speaking in the ancient tongue. A ripple of surprise seemed to pass through the mercenary fort.

"Fine," growled Naesala, "You don't have to pay us."

"How can that be? She is a fool. Why did she go?" said Tibarn.

"Giffca said the same thing," said Titania.

"Giffca came?" asked a crow soldier.

"Indeed. He was also wondering why laguz were dying," said Mist.

"Then we have no choice but to agree," grunted a hawk.

"Could you help us find Serena?" asked Ike.

"You want to find the girl?" asked Tibarn. It was obvious he was amused, and Ike flushed.

"We just want as many mercenaries as we can get," said Ike, "As you know, we're running low."

"I will leave some soldiers at your fort, and we will find her," said Tibarn.

"Don't expect me to do anything unless you plan on paying me a steep price. 25,000 gold would do the trick," said Naesala, "Oh, and Tibarn, I wouldn't suggest you waste hawks on these humans-- beorc either. You never know when you'll find a raven in your throne one day."

Ignoring Naesala's snide comment, Tibarn ordered five hawks to protect Ike's fort.

"How fast does this beorc Serena travel? And what does she look like? And what direction did she leave in?" asked Tibarn.

"She most likely travels by uh... day, I think, and she goes very fast because of her horse," said Ike, "And she has brown hair, ends at her shoulders, she wears golden armor, and her horse is as white as the snow. She left from the south."

"Janaff, Ulki, and you three hawks. Find the girl," ordered Tibarn, "I will stay at Phoenicis in case unwelcome visitors attempt to challenge me." He glared at Naesala before uttering a loud cry. The group of hawks left, except ten hawks remained. Without saying a word, the five hawks flew to the southern exit of the mercenary fort.

"Hmph. You're lucky you lived, you tricky humans," sneered Naesala. He turned, and all of his raven soldiers left with him.

"Phew. I could picture my head on the top of a totem pole," said William.

"You cowardly loser," said Mist.

"What are you orders for us?" interrupted a stern-looking hawk.

"Well... where would you like to sleep?" asked Ike.

"Are there any rooms? If you have five, that would be nice," said another hawk.

"We only have two extra rooms," stated Ike.

"Three to one and two to the other then," said a third hawk.

"Is that okay with you?" asked Ike.

"Good enough," murmured the first hawk.

"Now that that's settled, what would you like to eat?" asked Ike.

"We hunt."

"Okay then. I don't really have anything else to say, except make yourselves comfortable, and if you plan on going somewhere further away let me know first."

"Very well."

The hawks flew off in separate directions, but did not leave the borders of the fort.

"Anyways, let's keep training. I want everyone to be efficient in fighting both right and left-handed. You never know if your dominant arm will get cut off and you have to fight with one arm. As I was saying earlier, Mia and I will spar. Soren, practice your healing with Mist, and your magic with..."

"I'll practice my magic with William," said Soren.

"_After_ we practice healing. Let's go, Soren," said Mist. She happily skipped into a large, stone building. It was bigger and taller than the other buildings, and its walls were large squares. It stood magnificently high at about nine meters.

"Titania, I want you, Mia, and me to swap every other spar, okay?" said Ike.

"But I haven't practiced my magic in years! It's not fair!" complained William.

"Well then prepare to get defeated," grunted Ike, "Let's move!"

Everyone filed into the stone building Mist had walked in to.

The inside was, if possible, even more magnificent than the outside. The floor was a soft, blue color. It was cushioned enough for people not to faint, but hard enough to knock the wind out of someone. Each of the four sides had racks and shelves full of practice weapons. On the east side was a door that led to the magic and healing training rooms.

Ike walked to a gray wall with many weapon hangers. He placed the beautiful bow on a rack and picked a wooden training sword that was the right weight. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Titania picking a lance off a shelf.

_Smart,_ he thought, _She'll have an advantage with a lance._

Mia walked to his side and chose a light training sword.

"Mia, you and I will spar first. Whoever wins will spar with Titania," said Ike.

Ike and Mia walked to the center of the building, each getting into a comfortable position. Suddenly, Mia lunged forward, as if about to stab Ike in the stomach, but then abruptly twisted and went for his hip. Ike, having fast reflexes, swiftly brought his sword to his side in order to repel the attack. Their wooden swords met, yet soon they were separated when Ike did a spin to get behind Mia. He attempted to slash at her shoulder, yet she jumped forward. Ike lost his balance and fell forward. He felt a pain on his shoulder as Mia hit him. However, while he got up he randomly slashed upwards, and realized he had, by chance, hit Mia. When he looked up, he saw Mia clutching her face, and Titania beside her.

"Ike, get Mist," said Mia. It was hard to hear her muffled voice, but Ike made out something along the lines of, "And hurry, this hurts like crazy." Though he was still curious, he ran through the eastern door into a short corridor. Ike easily ran to the other side in ten steps before barreling through the door into a dark, domed room, startling Mist and Soren.

"Ike, don't bother me! You just messed me up!" scolded Mist.

"Mia said she needs you," panted Ike.

"Okay, I'm coming." replied Mist. Her face was worried, though she grabbed her staff confidently, "Soren, keep doing it."

Then she ran through the door Ike had come from. Ike walked after her and shut the door behind him. He walked back into the sparring room, and what he saw made him draw Ragnell... but he was too late... pain erupted from his skull… the darkness was inviting indeed...

* * *

I can't think of anything to say, so I'll just not say anything (even though I just did). 


	4. Chapter 4

Is Ike extremely OOC? Also, (I should have said this earlier) Serena is NOT the Serena from Sailor Moon. She's some random person I made up to go into this fanfic. And now that I re-read this… everyone seems all immature. WHATEVER I'll improve in the next fanfic I make.

* * *

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem.**

Hidden Love

Chapter 4

It was dark when Serena awoke.

_Now, where was I again?_ she thought. For a while she forgot why she was sleeping in a small clearing with a crude bed of sheets and blankets. She stared in confusion at her surroundings. Everywhere she looked, there were trees and bushes.

_So I'm in a dense forest. But why?_ thought Serena. Then it all came flooding back to her: the mission to deliver the message to the dragon king, riding on Zephyr, feeling tired, pulling out sheets and blankets, and then collapsing and falling asleep.

Beside her, Zephyr snorted in alarm, startling Serena and yanking her out of her thoughts. It appeared as if he heard something. Serena heard it too – the bushes had clearly rustled. She pulled out Boreas in defense.

After a few tense minutes, nothing else happened. Serena looked around to see if it was midnight or dawn. Judging by the stars in the sky, it was still midnight. She sheathed Boreas and sat down.

_I could fall asleep again, _she thought, _Or I could just keep traveling. I might as well._

Serena gently patted Zephyr's handsome head. He snorted in appreciation and sniffed Serena for treats.

"We'll have to go now," said Serena. Zephyr seemed to understand, and obediently stayed still while Serena packed her sheets and blankets. As she got into the saddle, another noise surprised her - the screech of a hawk. Afraid, she hastily tied her huge bag onto Zephyr and squeezed his sides. Then she immediately urged him into a dash. It was obvious he was confused, but he didn't stop.

"If you're too tired, you can trot," murmured Serena. It seemed - was she imagining it? - like Zephyr nodded. However, he kept his pace and continued charging through the forest.

Many times Serena was scratched by tree limbs; her face was bleeding from many scrapes, yet she didn't utter a sound. She continued admiring how Zephyr did not tire when she remembered he was the strongest and fastest horse. The young woman silently promised Ashera that if Zephyr could continue to run at this pace, she would give him five apples instead of two.

----------

It was already dawn when they finally left the forest. Zephyr slowed to a trot while Serena observed their atmosphere. She looked back from the way they came, and saw that the forest was much denser than she thought. Even when she looked forward, there were still quite a respectable amount of trees. However, unlike the forest, beautiful, sapphire rivers curved and zigzagged like slithering snakes.

_We've reached Gallia, it seems,_ she thought. _It's so beautiful!_

Then another realization hit her. _Wait, it's only been three days! __Wow, Zephyr is fast. I think I'll give him eight apples._

A tiger jumped from a tree in front of Serena.

"Er, we come in peace!" uttered Serena.

"You are to report to King Caineghis immediately. He is in Castle Gallia," the tiger merely said.

"Thank you," replied Serena. The tiger dipped its head in an almost aggressive fashion before bounding away.

"Now, where could the castle be?" she murmured to herself. She fell off the saddle as Zephyr abruptly turned and started walking towards a massive outline in the distance.

"How did you know where to go?" asked Serena. She stared up at Zephyr's innocent face for a few seconds before he whinnied impatiently. Without a word, she got back into Zephyr's saddle, and without having to do anything, he began cantering towards the castle.

After only a few minutes, the Castle Gallia was in view. The door was solid steel, and it looked particularly heavy. Two cats guarded the entrance, though Serena guessed there were many more laguz hidden from view. The castle looked superior to every building Serena had ever known, and it made the sparring building seem like an old restroom.

_Wait... how will I enter? _thought Serena, _Those cats guarding the entrance look fierce. I'll have trouble._

"Whoa," she said to Zephyr. He didn't stop and continued to trot forward.

The cats got ready to slash Serena into pieces, but when they saw her face, they immediately stopped attacking in mid-jump. They thumped to the ground and transformed into their human shape.

"Enter," growled one of the cats.

Zephyr looked at the other cat, as if asking for permission, and it nodded. It grasped one of the brass handles and the door opened silently. Zephyr walked forward, again without Serena's permission, and the heavy doors shut behind her with a loud _boom_.

Serena and her horse had entered a huge rectangular room with doors on every wall. Four tigers guarded the grandest door, which was directly across the hall from Serena. Eight cats guarded the doors to the left and right of Serena.

"Er… hello. I'm Serena and I wish to meet with your king, if you don't mind," said Serena. Zephyr seemed to be laughing at her stupid words.

"Yes, Giffca has informed us of your innocence, come this way," said one of the tigers.

"None are as blunt as she is! What fool, to speak to us that way!" growled a cat. Serena blushed and urged Zephyr to walk faster.

"She is the King's guest. We have no choice but to allow this human – beorc to pass," replied the another cat. Serena wished she could sink into the ground.

"Let her enter," ordered a tiger. He was the biggest of the other laguz, and one of the biggest laguz Serena had ever seen. She guessed his size was only second to Giffca's and Caineghis's.

A smaller tiger shoved the door, grunting as he did so, and it swung open surprisingly fast. Serena stared at the throne room in awe. Three and a half minutes later, a tiger demanded if Serena's horse was dead.

"Erm, no…" muttered Serena. She stared at Zephyr's mane.

"Then get your horse to walk in!" said the tiger.

Serena made Zephyr walk into the throne room while the door slammed shut behind her. Though she had the urge to fall of Zephyr's saddle again at the sight of Caineghis, she forced herself to remain calm. Gracefully, she dismounted Zephyr.

"I am Caineghis," stated the King.

"Hello, King Caineghis," replied Serena. Caineghis laughed a loud, roaring laugh.

"I'm sorry, I have no clue how to react to royalty. I'm sorry I'm so rude," murmured Serena.

"Please introduce yourself," said Caineghis, ignoring her last comment.

"I'm Serena, part of—"

"Ike's mercenaries. I have been informed. I will tell you now, do not go to the Dragon King Deghinsea. We do not blame you for the killings of our fellow laguz."

"_WHAT?!_ Then that three-day horse-ride of torture was in vain??" cried Serena. Zephyr knocked her to the floor and stomped on her foot, and she was shocked when she got a mental message: _This is a king you're talking to! And he's stronger than Ashnard, I might add! Stop complaining unless you want to die!_

At first, Caineghis looked like he would rip them both into pieces. He opened his mouth while Serena braced herself. Then she heard a sound that surprised her more than if Caineghis had lashed out – laughter.

----------

_Ike was walking in a beautiful green forest, which he recognized as the Serenes Forest. He saw Reyson, Leanne, and many more herons. Ike wondered who and where the herons had come from when suddenly, things took an ugly twist. The herons' graceful feathered wings transformed into terrible bat wings, and their faces went from pale to deathly white. Their hands were tipped with claws, and from their mouths grew fangs. However, the worst transformation was yet to come – their soft eyes grew red and filled with images of death and blood. Ike let out a cry of fear and fled from the forest. Yet the message the herons had conveyed to him in the dream was something he could not escape from: _"Death spawns here… Traitors are everywhere… Defeated heroes will fall in the dirt like rain… Life will be shortened for those who defy evil, and the world will be consumed by flame and blood!"

"AHHHHH!!!" Ike screamed. He found himself lying on the floor of the sparring room.

"EEEEEEEK!" came a shrill scream.

"YAAAAAAAA!" came another yell.

Ike got up and looked around in confusion. He saw Mist on the floor a few feet away from him and William a few feet away from her.

"Ike, the others! What happened? Where's Mia? WAAAAAA!!" bawled Mist.

"Stop crying. Why do we need to find Mia?" asked Ike.

"She was hurt! When you hit her with your sword, you slashed her face!" screamed Mist.

"MIA!" bellowed Ike. He strained his ears, yet heard nothing. Worried, Ike did a quick check of the sparring building, but he did not find Soren, Titania, or Mia.

"We have to find them!" said Mist. She ran outside, and Ike followed suit. Only William stayed in the sparring room.

"I'll search in here," he said.

Ike ran outside and saw Mia and Soren. Both of them were unconscious, yet at least Soren was unhurt.

"Mia. Mia!" said Ike. Her face was caked in dry blood, which disgusted Ike, yet he showed no sign of his emotions. He shook her and she woke up.

"Oww, who dragged out me here? And what happened?" asked Mia.

"Mia, don't speak. I'll heal you!" said Mist. She put her staff in Mia's face and the blood disappeared.

"Soren, wake up!" said Ike. He shook him and saw Soren open his eyes.

"Ugh…" Soren groaned, "I hate getting bad dreams that predict death,"

Ike's eyes widened, showing his astonishment.

"You got the dream about the herons?" Ike whispered urgently.

"Huh? No, but I got this terrible message… _"_'_A single traitor is in your midst… His minor actions kindle the flame of death… All that is dear to you will die…_'"

Ike stared at him, for once allowing his fear to envelope him.

_What will happen to everyone I care about? _Ike thought worriedly, _To Mist… to everyone in this mercenary group?_

His thoughts were interrupted by horses' hooves, and he saw, to his astonishment, his search crew, the hawks, and Serena!

"Well, turns out she came back on her own accord!" Oscar announced cheerfully.

"Yay for Serena… huh… that was hard work…" panted Gatrie.

"Sir Ike, do you have any further use of us?" asked a hawk.

"No, thank you for your help," replied Ike. The hawks nodded and flew away.

"How was your experience?" asked Mia.

"Oh, it was terrible," said Serena. She grinned when Mia's eyes widened and quickly said, "Not that terrible, though. I'm just terrible with royals. Zephyr had ridden to Gallia and a tiger told me to go to the castle. Once I met with Caineghis, I didn't know how I should act or what I should say, so I said… rather stupid things."

Ike laughed cruelly before noticing everyone starting to glare at him.

"Ike, why are you always so mean to Serena?" asked Rhys, shooting a quick glance at Boyd.

"Yeah Ike, you should respect women!" berated Boyd.

"Why are you all standing up for Serena?!" demanded Ike.

"Because it's fun teasing you," replied Titania. No one had noticed the red-haired paladin sneak into the scene.

"Well, back to where we left off a while ago," said Ike, "Everyone, start sparring. I want to exchange a few words with Serena." Ike's mercenaries reluctantly filed into the sparring room.

_Ike wants to set aside some time for Serena? Ooh,_ thought Mist.

Once the door of the sparring room shut with a muffled _thunk_, Ike proceeded to glare at Serena.

"Well, what are you glaring at me for?" demanded Serena.

"You are an idiot!" yelled Ike.

"You began with the whole, "Let's go on the dragon quest" thing!" Serena screamed in response.

"You volunteered! You knew you were going for suicide!"

"Yeah, so? You would've chosen me to go anyways!"

"No I wouldn't have!"

"Yes, you would, liar!"

"Just shut up. That's not what I wanted to say," Ike said, his voice softening.

"What then?" Serena asked curiously.

"Wait here," said Ike. He quickly charged into the sparring room, leaving Serena to stare at him in wonder. Ike emerged from the sparring room with something Serena recognized and was gratified to see – her lost grandmother's bow.

"Where did this bow come from?" he asked.

"Didn't you get a note?" asked Serena.

"Huh? A note?"

"Yeah, it said something about using it well. I gave it to you in case… in case I didn't return. It was my grandmother's, but she died."

"Oh… um, should I give it back to you?"

"Sure…"

Ike returned the beautiful bow to Serena. When she stared into his eyes, she was surprised to see something other than anger.

"I'll go put my bow back in my room," she murmured, and quickly ran off. However, when she walked back to the sparring room entrance, she was startled to see that Ike was still there.

"Serena…" whispered Ike.

"Yes?" she whispered in response. Ike walked closer to her and held her hand. He glanced quickly at the sparring room before glancing at her. She nodded her head, a tiny motion, before they walked into the forest. Because Ike had never fallen in love before and had no idea what to do, he simply wrapped his arms around her waist and shoulder and gently touched his lips to hers. Serena felt as if she were melting. For a long moment, or so it seemed, they were together. When they finally broke apart, Serena closed her eyes.

"Why don't we take a walk in the forest?" he proposed.

"Yes…" Serena murmured.

Ike took her hand and they walked into the depths of the lush green forest.

* * *

I thought this was too long, so I ended it. Next and final chapter will come sooner than this one. 


	5. Chapter 5

So much for "coming sooner." Anyways, last chapter. Also, WARNING: This is extremely long. 10 pages on Microsoft word, 9.5 font, verdana. But don't get discouraged, it has the ending, so yeah, READ!! And the ending is really depressing, so if you want happy endings… well, I'm thinking of writing a sequel, but first I'm going to put on another story that has nothing to do with this one that I've been writing for some time.

* * *

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem and because parts of this seem to be from Tamora Pierce's "Wild Magic," I don't own that either.**

Hidden Love

Chapter 5

Serena and Ike had been walking for hours in the forest. The green leaves and brown stumps were starting to get monotonous. Even a birdcall seemed half as beautiful as they usually were. Though she did trust Ike, she silently thought they were lost. It seemed every tree they saw they had seen before, and every rock looked similar too. Even the rivers looked the same.

"Ike?" Serena finally asked, "Are we lost?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"How do you know?"

"Do you trust me?"

"Of course. Just checking."

"This is called the Labyrinth Forest."

"Oh."

"Yeah. Tired?" Ike asked. He noticed Serena was slightly struggling to keep up.

"Yeah. Is it okay if we um… sit on this rock together?"

"Of course." Ike brushed his hand across the flat surface of the rock to get some of the dust off. They sat down side by side and a long silence ensued.

"So…" said Serena, breaking the silence.

"Sorry. I don't talk much. Um, yeah, how's it going? Do you like this walk?"

"Yes, it's peaceful. I love trees and nature."

"That's good," said Ike.

"Do you think we're going to have war?" asked Serena. The question had come out of nowhere.

"I hope not, but the possibility is quite high."

"I hate war."

"So do I. Everyone does."

"Yes, I believe so. It's terrible – crops burning, citizens getting slaughtered, ambushes—" Serena began. She stopped when an arrow whizzed from the trees and flew only a millimeter a way from her ear. It buried itself deep in a tree behind her.

"Who's there?" demanded Ike. Suddenly, a volley of arrows fired from the trees as if to answer Ike's question. By some miracle, they all missed. By now, Ike had pulled out his sacred blade, Ragnell, and Serena had drawn Eurus.

"Surrender or die!" rasped a horrible voice.

"We're outnumbered!" Serena whispered just loud enough for Ike to hear.

"Fight anyways!" was Ike's reply. He slashed his sword at an arrow, knowing its blast radius would be large enough to hit the nearest bush. It was the right move – the bush ripped in half to reveal five pink-armored archers hidden behind it. To finish Ike's work, Serena charged the bush and killed every archer. However, more arrows were being shot, and by now, melee infantry in bright pink armor had appeared from the trees.

"Get the archers first!" yelled Ike. He slashed at another bush, killing the archers taking shelter behind it. Serena was forced to cut through the bush before getting to the archers, though she was fast enough to only get a minor graze from an arrow.

By now the archers were gone, but the infantry were fresh, and it seemed they kept appearing. They flooded into the battle, and though Ike and Serena were holding out, they were slowly losing the advantage. Ike slashed at a soldier when Serena's back was turned, and when Serena turned around, she saw a soldier behind Ike with his sword held high, ready to stab. She opened her mouth to scream, but it was too late – the soldier brought down his blade, and it went right through Ike's back. A small amount of blood trickled from his mouth, and he began to fall. Serena ran to him and caught him before his handsome face fell to the ground, but it was too late. He had already died.

For the first time in her life, Serena lost control of herself. She mercilessly slashed the nearest man - who happened to be the one who killed Ike - and cut his head off. She was not aware of her blade slashing through every man, cutting underbrush and trees as well – she did not wince as she sometimes did when there was a terrible scream and a gurgle – she mercilessly slashed and stabbed and spun as the world around her turned into a blur. Serena did not notice men screaming, "HE IS DEAD! THE CAPTAIN IS DEAD! RETREAT!" However, she did not let any man escape – even as they were retreating, she found them and killed them. When they were all dead, she had finally regained her control. Though she was horrified of all the blood on her hands and legs, she forgot about everything as soon as she saw Ike's body lying motionless on the ground, the sword still protruding from his back. Sobbing, she ran to him, praying he was still alive, even though she knew it was hopeless.

"Ike… oh Ike, why did they take you alone? Why? WHY DIDN'T THEY TAKE ME TOO? WHY COULDN'T THEY?" she screamed into the air, "YOU KILLED HIM! AND YOU DIDN'T CARE FOR ALL THE GREAT THINGS HE DID! I SHOULD HAVE DIED TOO! WHY DIDN'T YOU KILL ME? KILL ME! FIND ME! I – I –" Serena broke off into heartbroken sobs. She didn't notice Zephyr grasping her by her shirt and throwing her forcefully onto his back. She heard Ike land behind her, yet she didn't really register in her brain what was going on.

_Serena._ A piercing yet sympathetic voice echoed through her head. _Serena._

"WHAT?? ARE YOU GOING TO KILL ME TOO? TAKE ME! KILL ME!" screamed Serena.

_It is I, Zephyr. Calm yourself. Your time will come._

Though Serena wondered since when there were prophetic horses, she said nothing. She sobbed for a few more minutes before falling asleep.

----------

When Serena came to, she saw a light brown… thing, hanging over her. Then she noticed the thing was on a yellow background.

_Is this the place of the dead? Am I dead?_ Serena thought hopefully.

"Serena?" asked a small voice, "It's me, Mist. Can ya hear me?"

"Oh. Mist. The healer. Yes." Serena stated monotonously. Mist didn't say more and just started crying. Serena heard Titania crying too, and before she knew it, everyone around her was sobbing, crying, honking their noses, or turning around and pretending not to cry.

"Ike… why did you leave me?" sobbed Mist, "You promised y-you'd never leave me… I'm scared… You were the only one left…"

"Th-this is unforgivable," said Oscar quietly, his voice trembling, "We must declare war. I hope our messenger will get there soon enough…"

"W-w-we sent him yesterday. He should be back soon, seeing as our queen is very… fond of h-him…" said Titania. She was barely able to compose herself. Ironically, the messenger arrived a few seconds later.

"War will be declared. Crimea is arming and training troops," said the messenger.

"Thank you," said Titania. The messenger then promptly left.

"We might as well train too," said Gatrie. There was a dullness in his voice no one had ever heard before.

"Yes. Let's go train. I want you all to be training hard! Serena, are you well?" asked Titania.

"Yes. I will train," said Serena.

"Very well. Let's go to the sparring room then," said Titania. She turned and left.

No one moved or made a sound for a while.

"Let us not waste time," said Soren quite suddenly. He left, and everyone else filed after him. Serena, however, separated from the line right before the entrance to the sparring room. She sprinted to the horse stall, where Zephyr was lazily chewing a patch of grass.

_You should be training,_ said Zephyr. His stern words echoed through Serena's distraught mind.

_I need to… to… put myself back together, _Serena replied,_ Even though Ike is… the one who was… you know, I feel like I have been sliced into pieces. Everyone I care for always dies. My ma died first - was murdered. My da died two days later. Went out to find her and got killed too. My older sister died of scarlet fever. My little sister was kidnapped and drowned. My baby sister, just born, was shaken to death. My grandparents died the only peaceful death, which was of old age. Geoffrey, who I thought I loved, left. And now, Ike… has been killed as well. I must be cursed. I should have been murdered first. If only da would let me train the horses back then… then everybody would still be alive. If only - _

_Stop,_ snapped Zephyr, _Your thinking is most miserable. You are putting too much blame on yourself. Fate is sometimes cruel, but you cannot change it, you can merely accept it. But one thing you _can_ do is not let yourself be crushed to bits. Life is a test Serena - a test of strength and wills. Once you pass - and everyone passes, it just takes time - you are granted whatever wish you want when you enter the afterworld._

Serena stared at Zephyr in amazement. _How did you know all this? I mean, no offense, but you're just a horse!_

The white stallion snorted in disgust_. You humans are so vain. You believe you are the cleverest. You are not. Ashera whispers lessons in our ears that humans have shunned for all their existence. You are not the smartest beings, far from that. We animals may not be able to communicate and do math and things - though gifted ones like myself can learn about human intelligence - but Ashera teaches us much more than just diplomatic things. Nature teaches us theories and why things are how they are. We learn more from Ashera in one lesson than you humans can ever learn in a lifetime._

_Wow, you know a lot. What does nature teach you?_

_That is for me to know and you to never find out._

_Oh. Sheesh._

Pause.

_Doesn't it feel good to know more than your owner?_

_Be quiet._

_Haha._

_You're a deranged horse._

Excuse_ me!_

_You can't think like a horse anymore. You're kinda like a human in a horse._

_Yes. That is the one disadvantage of being blessed with the gift._

_Oh. _

Serena and Zephyr sat in silence for a while before Mist came to get her.

"There you are! Everyone wondered where you were!" cried Mist.

"Sorry," said Serena, "I just wanted to… give Zephyr some more treats." She dropped her long-forgotten eight apples in front of Zephyr's nose. She also dropped a sugar cube. Zephyr looked up in surprise, and Serena could have sworn she saw a roughish grin on his face before it disappeared a second later when Zephyr picked up an apple.

"Well, let's train," said Mist.

Serena and Mist walked side by side to the not-so-grand sparring building. The blue floor looked darker and sadder as if it were mourning Ike's death as well.

Getting her mind off the floor, she grabbed a random wooden sword that was too light for her and sparred with her fellow mercenaries. Though she won every time, she wasn't even half as strong as she used to be, but her speed and agility were still unmatched.

"Well, you won again Serena. I guess you can just take a break 'til we're done training the others," said Titania.

"Ugh, I have to spar when I could easily be looking for pretty lasses!" grumbled Gatrie. He had already lost twice out of his four opponents.

"'Kay, I'll be at Zephyr's stable," said Serena, then promptly left. She had a bad feeling in her stomach for some reason, so she walked to her room and put on her armor. That made her feel better. Then she walked to Zephyr's stable.

_You should be training,_ said Zephyr, seeing her approach.

_I did so well that Titania let me leave,_ she replied.

_So? Train. Get better. Avenge Ike. Defeat the pink duds._

_Sigh. It stinks having a horse that's smarter than its owner._

_Haha._

_Quiet._

_Listen! _Zephyr suddenly said. Serena strained her ears and heard a faint drumroll.

_What? An ambush on a whole mercenary base?_ thought Serena,And_ they're using the old-fashioned way of announcing war! But hey, that's a pretty catchy rhythm, _she added as an afterthought.

_Go warn the others, fool! Only you and I can hear this because we're outside! _yelled Zephyr. Serena hastily drew Boreas - the sword which never left her side anymore - and sprinted toward the sparring building. She burst through the door and screamed, "Everyone, we're under attack! It's kinda like an ambush but it's not! Get your weapons! And your armor! NOW!"

That was all Serena had to say - everyone started running out the sparring room and preparing for battle.

"Soren!" Serena cried before he left.

"What?"

"Can you see them and think of a plan?" asked Serena.

"Umm… they have about one hundred troops. And we have… oh --" Soren uttered a particularly bad word before continuing, "Eleven mercenaries, counting William."

"Oh. Great. Um…"

"I'll think of a plan when we see them better! I've gotta get my tomes!" exclaimed Soren. He ran off, leaving Serena standing there like an idiot.

_Serena! You can ride me. You know how to fight on a horse, right?_ came Zephyr's urgent voice.

_No. We will die. I don't want you to die. You can escape,_ replied Serena.

_Pessimist. Never lose hope._

_Yeah, especially when you're outnumbered 100 to 11 and you're quite unprepared and depressed. Sounds good to me._

_Shut up and ride me!_

_No!_

_I don't care if I die! Ugh, if only Ike never died! You wouldn't have all this fear! You're scared! GET ON MY SADDLE NOW!_

_Fine…_ Serena said, as Zephyr charged into view. Serena jumped onto his saddle and realized he was already wearing armor.

_Did you get that on yourself?_ asked Serena. He didn't answer and instead motioned for Serena to join everyone else as they emerged from various buildings, lead by Titania. They met in the center of all of the buildings.

"Got a war speech?" asked Boyd.

"Yes. We're trained. We can fight. We will defeat them," said Titania. She spoke with such calmness that everyone felt a little better.

"Will we get reinforced?" asked Rolf.

"I doubt it - I just sent a messenger," was Titania's grim reply.

"Who?" asked Serena.

"William."

"Did he volunteer?"

"Yes."

"Coward," spat Mia. It was uncharacteristic for her to do such a thing, so everyone looked at her in surprise.

"Mia?" asked Mist. She looked a little frantic.

"I hate William. He always disappears when we need his help," said Mia, "He may be a master weapon forger, but he doesn't even offer a grain of help when he could be helpful. Especially since he's a master of the axe. Oh, sorry Boyd," she added.

"Whatever, just get ready," said Serena, as Zephyr shifted uneasily.

"Okay, Soren, got any advice?" asked Oscar.

"Hmm… strange… they aren't in any formation, they're just running in lines. They've split slightly… Okay, this is the march formation. They come in squares. There's twenty-five people in each "square," five rows of five, and four 'squares.'" said Soren.

"But it's July!" said Boyd.

"No, I mean march as in hup-two-three four, not March the month," snapped Soren.

"Oh. Sheesh," replied Boyd.

"So whaddo we do?" asked Gatrie.

"This formation really doesn't have any advantages - it's actually quite pointless, it just looks neat. The best thing to do is attack from behind, but the sides aren't a bad way either. Just don't attack the front, because then it's easy for them to surround us," Soren said matter-of-factly.

"Okay. We need some fast people to attack from behind… good thing they're holding axes. Mia, Oscar, Boyd, and Serena. Attack from behind. Rhys, go with them to be their healer. The rest of us will use range until they get closer," said Titania.

"Rhys, you can ride my horse to keep up with us," said Serena.

"Okay, thanks," said Rhys, as he clumsily got on, "Sorry, no horse experience before."

"No problem."

The two speedy infantry and cavalry quickly left from the back of the fort as an attempt to sneak attack the enemy from their unguarded flank.

"Use the cover of the trees," added Titania quietly. Apparently, she didn't need to say that, because the fast group marched into the trees.

Soren immediately blasted some soldiers with Elthunder, though only two soldiers were defeated - the others just got back up, looking as though someone had set off a bomb in their hair.

"Blast. They have high resistance," said Soren.

"Let's hope they don't have high defense, too," said Titania, as she threw a spear. The spear hit its mark, and a man fell to the ground, the spear protruding from his chest.

"I don't think so," said Gatrie, as he attempted to throw five spears in one hand. Most of them missed, but the two that hit killed their targets.

After those few slow and uncertain attacks, the pink-armored men were pelted with arrows, spears, axes, and magic. Though the first square was scattered, the second square was much stronger, and they kept on approaching. Oddly enough, the final square, which was to be ambushed, had stopped moving and turned toward the trees.

"Oh no," whispered Mist, "Soren, somehow they know they're coming."

Soren muttered something which Mist guessed was a curse before telling Titania.

"Then may Ashera protect them," was all Titania could say and do.

"Should we keep pelting them? Or should we charge? My spear just ran out," said Gatrie.

"Mine did too," added Titania.

"I still have half of my arrows, but they're coming faster," said Rolf.

"No! I didn't notice their sages…" murmured Soren.

"Well, Soren the great, missing something," taunted an evil voice.

"William?!" cried Mist.

"Yes, I'm ready to help you now."

"How did you deliver the message so fast? I ordered you to take it to Elincia!" exclaimed Titania.

"I don't care for you or your friends," sneered William, "You believed I was merely a poor weapon forger? Heh. I was a spy. And now, I shall please King Dugan by killing you all. Say your prayers to Ashera!" he cackled. He pulled out a Killer Axe and ran for Soren.

"NO!" screamed Mist. Yet William had horrible resistance, and so when Soren cast Elwind William was blasted back at least twenty feet.

"Fool! Traitor!" bellowed Soren.

"Don't get distracted! Some people finish William and we'll get the approaching enemies!" yelled Titania. She and Gatrie charged into the fray. The enemy, apparently, was quite startled and inexperienced - most of them were cut down immediately by Titania, and Gatrie, though he got bashed quite a few times, got the rest.

"Move on to the next square!" called Titania. At the fort, Soren took care of William quite quickly.

With his dying breath, he said, "Heh heh… you'll die here today… Ike… I ordered… the… ambush on him…"

_This is highly disturbing. I must tell Titania,_ thought Soren. Then he cast more tomes. Rolf stood by him and shot arrows, and Soren saw horses and the forms of Mia and Boyd struggling against the fourth, and apparently strongest, square.

_My god, these guys are tough,_ thought Serena, as she was slashed again. The sword scraped her armor and made a very unpleasant scratching sound before leaving a long dent. She saw Oscar and Boyd staying together, though they were struggling too. Mia was having more luck, as she was not depressed, and her speed greatly outmatched those of her surrounding opponents.

Unfortunately, while she wasn't paying attention, the enemy had taken advantage of this and surrounded her. Though she was fast, she was cut off from everyone else, and even with the advantage of a horse, this was a group of the elite veterans. They all stabbed at Serena and Zephyr, and she screamed in pain as she fell off Zephyr, who had already died, and landed as a bloody heap on the ground. What hurt her even more was the fact that she was still alive.

"Leave her to die," hissed one of the men. And as they parted, Serena saw sights that hurt her even more - both Oscar and Boyd were lying motionless on the ground.

"Serena!" screamed Mist. She ran over and attempted to heal her.

"It's worthless, Mist. I'm dead…" whispered Serena.

"No! No! NO!" screamed Mist. She used many of her staves, yet to no avail.

"Don't waste your staves…," gasped Serena, "I'm cursed… you'll die… be careful…"

"You're not cursed! Please, don't leave me!" sobbed Mist.

"Mist… hurry… don't worry about me… leave…" whispered Serena, her breath rapidly fading, "I'm happy… look… it's Ike… Greil… and that woman… must be your mother… Haha… Ike! Ike! I see him! I'm sorry Mist… they're reaching out… I must…" and with that, Serena smiled and closed her eyes.

"NO!" screamed Mist. She bent over Serena's bloody body and cried.

"Mist! Look out!" shouted Titania, who had, with Gatrie's help, finished the third square. Only the fourth square was left, yet the archers all shot at the exposed Mist. Five arrows pierced her back, and she fell forward onto her face. Gatrie killed them, but sadly, lacking speed, not before they hit Mist.

Titania ordered her horse to charge over, and to her horror, she realized Mist's back was slightly moving. She was still alive. Titania jumped off her horse, not caring of the enemies, and flipped Mist over.

"I'll get Rhys," she said, "I used up my healing potions." Titania looked up and wailed out loud when she saw Rhys lying in a pool of his own blood, a spear through his heart.

"Please Titania," begged Mist, "Kill me… I'm not mad, this hurts so bad… I keep seeing Ike and the others but they keep fading… Just stick your lance through my heart… It'll be over…"

"No…" whispered Titania.

"Please!" begged Mist.

Titania, crying, did as Mist told her, and regretfully stuck her lance through the young girl's heart.

"Thank you…" whispered Mist.

Finally, Greil's/Ike's fine mercenaries were forced to flee. Titania picked up the survivors, and to her dismay, were only four (not counting herself): Gatrie, Mia, Soren, and a badly wounded Rolf. His sides were badly slashed, and so was his chest.

"Titania… where's Boyd and Oscar? Are they okay?" whispered Rolf upon seeing her approach.

"They're… they're gone. I'm sorry," Soren answered. He actually looked sympathetic, which made Rolf feel slightly better.

"Ah, well, I'll join them anyways…" said Rolf.

"No you won't," Titania said sharply.

The small group traveled only a few meters into the forest before the fatally wounded Rolf also died.

"How can this be?" cried Titania, tears falling down her face as they stopped to bury Rolf, "Why did Ashera do this to us? WHY?! It's only been seven years after Ike's heroic winning of the war! WHY DID THE GODDESS TAKE HIM??"

"It must have been the dream… it came true," moaned Soren.

"What?!" demanded Gatrie and Mia simultaneously.

"I dreamt one night… I was alone, in the dark, and a voice… it whispered from the trees… "'_A single traitor is in your midst… His minor actions kindle the flame of death… All that is dear to you will die…_'" and I started running… but it kept saying that. Then Ike woke me up and after I told him I had a dream that foretold death, he said he had a death dream too."

"This can't be…" whispered Mia.

"We have to get to Elincia. We're armed, but my weapons are wearing out, and we have no food supplies. No water. We have to hurry," said Titania.

"We should be able to get there in a few hours if we travel fast," said Soren.

"Everyone, onto my horse," commanded Titania. Her strong horse was able to carry everyone's weight, even Gatrie's, and still run at a fast pace.

Sadly, before they could reach the castle, they were ambushed. Because of their horrible state, their lack of supplies, and the fact that they were outnumbered, none of the mercenaries survived.

That day, in which Ashera cruelly took the lives of the heroes of Greil's mercenaries, the flowers drooped and the trees shriveled. They, too were mourning, knowing that war was going to be declared, and it was. Though the five countries of Tellius didn't even know what they were going against, they automatically assumed it was each other. So, the flames of war roared back to life, engulfing Tellius and taking the lives of many innocent people. No one truly knew what was going on, until an educated dragon finally stood up to the whole continent.

* * *

See? What'd I tell you? Depressing. But you can tell there will be a sequel… seeing as summer vacation is coming up and I'll have more time to be bored and write/type. 


End file.
